Friday at Le Fournil

I had a morning meeting with a client at Le Fournil, a French boulangerie in Eastlake, and stayed after he left to finish my latte and croissant & do a sketch. It's not the most successful drawing I've ever done, but it was an enjoyable way to spend a rainy Friday! I think it's a good example for the ~atmospheric perspective in mixed media~ workshop I will be teaching in Seattle & Amsterdam this summer. I captured some of my process and I'll describe it below.

I like the rounded wall of windows here, and I wanted to capture the scene with everyone sitting around cozily as it drizzled outside. But as soon as I started, almost everyone left...rude. That's why you take the photo at the beginning of the sitting!

I didn't bring any watercolors or even a water brush, so it's all dry media for this one: I used a fat yellow Posca paint marker, chisel-tip markers in tan and dark brown, gray sign pen, a light brown colored pencil, and white gel pen. All these colors are basically in the same color range so the end result feels unified, even if the media are really different.

First I loosely blobbed in the indoor structures with the paint marker. Daytime windows are always more bright than interiors, even on gloomy days like today, so make sure to leave them white. The yellow shape-sketch unifies the interior, sets a color tone, and lets me establish the basic shapes quickly. I then added a few dimensional details to the windows and captured some sidewalk passerby with a tan marker.

Not feeling like getting fussy with this, I go straight to drawing in the people and tables in a darker brown (Kuretake Zig calligraphy marker ) which sets them definitively apart from the background. I started with the guy looking at his phone since he was distracted at the moment. I (correctly) got the feeling they were about to leave since they had finished eating and the other man seemed bored, and ended up finishing him from a photo. Then everyone sitting in the window area left too!! ´• n •`

I liked the complex tangle of black chairs in the space, but I probably could have composed this better – e.g. it bothers me how the line of the floor in back is awkwardly obscured. Oh well!
I felt like it needed another figure on the right side, but no one came back to sit in the window...so I drew myself there, using a gray pentel sign pen (note: this self-addition is technically outside the bounds of urban sketching). This gray is close in value to the brown so it feels like part of the foreground, yet recedes slightly due to being lighter and less saturated.

Final touch ups: I went back in with the white Signo gel pen to add definition to objects in the foreground, establishing what's in front of what by outlining their contours. Also filling in the bulbs in the cool wall sconces, and white-ing in the right hand table. Added some more yellow acrylic to the sides to fill out the space, and finally put a hint of the floor & ceiling tiles down with a brown colored pencil.

Hope this inspires you to do more mixed media experimenting in your sketchbooks this weekend!

Three USK 10X10 workshops in October Part #2: Jane Wingfield and Eleanor Doughty

[Read  Part 1 of this series, on Andika Murandi's workshop]

The second of my three Fall 10x10 workshops was Jane Wingfield' People in Places, scheduled for October 14 in the Pike Place Market.

I started the morning by getting lost in the labyrinthine market with all its small shops, stairs, hallways, alleys, which don't seem to follow any meaningful spatial organization. I had to stop at a shop and ask for direction. The shop owner didn't seem very impressed with my capacity to follow his instructions (go to the end of the hallways, pass the glass door, turn left, cross the alley by the gum wall, find the wood staircase and so on), but I finally made it to the Atrium.

Jane had prepared nice booklets with the course handout and a folder with Manila paper for each of us, so that we could freely and loosely sketch people without feeling concerned about wasting paper or making a pretty sketch.

She started by showing us many examples of how other urban sketchers depict people in their sketches, from Suhita Shirodkar, to Jim Richards, Melanie Reim, Jane herself and many others.
Jane introduced several techniques to capture the gesture in posture and quickly sketch people with markers, brush pens, or directly with watercolor. After practicing for a while, we ventured in the very crowded Market to sketch people in context. Below are my manila paper sketches practicing Jane's instructions and tips.

A collage of my people sketch practice during Jane Wingfield's workshop. We tried several techniques and took inspiration from the many examples from Jane's printouts.

Below some pictures from the workshop, including our throw-downs and Jane fearlessly standing in a corner of the market for a demo.

Participants at Jane Windfield's workshop People in places and Jane during the demo

The last exercise was a more complete sketch of people in context. My sketch took quite a while. There were a constant flow of people walking around, never stopping, always changing. It was mesmerizing, distracting, and a bit overwhelming, but little by little, and switching between the buildings, the  people and back to the buildings, things started to make sense.

My final sketch of the People in Places workshop. Some of the watercolor wash was done at a later time.

As I did the previous week, I after the workshop I got lunch (a "crêpe du jour" at the Crêpe de France) then I walked around the area with my sketchbook ready. My attention was caught by the iridescent building on the left of the sketch below, as well as by the never ending constructions in downtown Seattle.

Buildings and construction at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Virginia Street on my way back from the workshop

My third and final workshop was Eleanor Doughty's From Afar: Rendering Atmospheric Perspective in Watercolor. We met at the Lynn Street mini park in East Lake last Saturday. It was a foggy, moody morning, perfect for working on atmospheric perspective. It was also humid and unexpectedly cold.

The goal of the workshop was to learn about atmospheric perspective and practicing rendering it in watercolor using composition and differences in contrast, details, tone, edges, and color temperature. Eleanor had included several examples in her handout of how talented sketchers and illustrators represented space and distance and composed their scenes.

Eleanor illustrated many of those techniques in her demo, then it was our turn to apply them to our sketches. My first sketch was a bit of a mess, but I used what I learned from my mistakes (too much water, not enough water, too many colors, colors in the background too bright, muddy mess) to make a much simpler second version.

My (second) watercolor sketch for Eleanor's workshop on atmospheric perspective. I used Daniel Smith Blue Ultramarine and Transparent Red Oxide on Arches cold press watercolor paper.

By the end of the morning the sun had come up and it was much more pleasant to stand outside. I had a chat with Eleanor, which told me about her recent trip to Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, then walked to East Lake avenue. While I was waiting for my husband to pick me up, I sketched the view from this spot, to which I later applied a watercolor wash.

Waiting for my ride in front of the Voxx Coffee, at the intersection of Eastlake Avenue East and Lynn street.

This is all for my 10x10 Fall workshops, but if you are interested there are still 3 workshops in October and November that you might be able to attend (and if you are not in Seattle, there is a chance that similar workshops are scheduled in your area). I'm sure you'll find them fun and inspiring.

Eleanor Doughty Sketches from Afar

10/20/18 Ellie gives a demo at tiny Lynn Street Mini Park.

On a chilly, foggy morning, I went out to what must be Seattle’s tiniest park ever: Lynn Street Mini Park on the east shore of Lake Union. That was the location of Ellie Doughty’s USk 10x10 workshop, From Afar: Rendering Atmospheric Perspective in Watercolor. Stopping by for a quick sketch and a few photos, I couldn’t take the workshop myself, but from all reports, it was an inspiring, well-organized experience for her students. And she couldn’t have picked a better day to focus on atmospheric perspective: Boats and buildings on the near shore were in marked contrast to the foggy landscape on the opposite side of the lake.

A great morning for atmospheric perspective.

From Afar: an atmospheric perspective workshop

Hey Seattle USkers, I wanted to let y'all know I'll be teaching a workshop in the fall 10x10 series, From Afar (Oct. 20 in Eastlake). I'll be teaching some methods on making your compositions have greater contrast between close & distant objects in interesting and fun ways, using principles of atmospheric perspective. Although the workshop is not for beginners, it's pretty approachable as long as you have some grasp of watercolor techniques (i.e. it's not your first time ever picking up the medium). 

The subject matter will be Queen Anne hill & Westlake as seen from the Eastlake neighborhood. I love capturing the trees and buildings stacked up on the hill, topped by the 3 antennas I never get tired of it. The techniques can certainly be applied outside of Queen Anne views though! And since it'll be in October, we might even get some stunning fall foliage. I hope you can make it to my first official Urban Sketchers workshop, I'm very excited. 

Here are some sketches which show some examples of these techniques - to me, the typical Seattle landscape is a hill with buildings peeking through trees, and I love painting these kinds of scenes. 

Eleanor's Eastlake

I really love my neighborhood, Eastlake. As a work-at-home freelancer, I make a point to go on a (sketch)walk once a day to get myself out of the house. There's always something new that catches my eye here. Here are some scenes I captured in my sketchbook over the last couple months:

A very clear day in January! These floating homes & live aboard boats obviously have a choice view of Gas Works, the Aurora bridge, and the mountains (when they're out).  

 Most of the commercial buildings in Eastlake don't have much charm, but the Hines Public Market, (est. 1924) is kind of nice - mostly because of its signage, I think. The Zoo tavern and Carrot Cafe are locally loved spots, but I wonder what it was like when the building was a real public market, back when Eastlake Ave had a busy streetcar route. Apparently there have been various beer-related establishments here since the 1930s. 

Same building two months later, seen from an elevated parking lot across the street. The same beer delivery van was parked in the exact same spot this time! 

The I-5 Colonnade (which I wrote about before) is a great place to go to sketch when it's rainy, as its roof extends for blocks and there are many cool views of the hilly parts of Eastlake, Lake Union, and Queen Anne across the water. My partner happened to be doing his last sailing lesson on this cold, wet day, and as he was the only boat on Lake Union it was really fun to watch him out on the lake from afar and include him in the sketch.

One of my favorite spots in the neighborhood, a pocket park off of an industrial stretch of the road, named for an activist who used to live in a nearby floating home. There are some amazing views of Queen Anne and the SLU skyline from the dock, and apparently you can catch some fish once in a while if you're patient (according to the fisherman). Despite it being January, the cherry tree here was starting to bud!?

lake union drydock co.

Lake Union Drydock Co. is one of my closest neighbors here in Eastlake, Seattle, occupying a couple blocks on the eastern Lake Union's shore. I'm working on getting inside the facility and onto their docks for closer sketching, but for now I'll be content capturing interesting land/water scenes from the many viewpoints on land.

They've been in operation for almost 100 consecutive years, and are one of the only all-wood docks left in the city. LUDD has mostly been in the boat repair business, but back in the early 20th century they made a few dozen patrol & recreation boats, and even several minesweepers during WWII. [source]

Some charming sailboats moored up on the left, in front of various wooden sheds on docks used by the Drydock Co. Behind is the I-5 highway I wrote about earlier and the upper-class neighborhoods cresting Capitol Hill. 

The Sandra Foss, a tugboat, has been docked for several weeks, presumably getting repairs.
I recently learned that the Foss Maritime business started in nearby Tacoma, when a frustrated person sold his rowboat to Thea Foss for $5 in the late 19th century. She painted it white with green trim and turned it into a business asset; eventually leading the Foss family to own a fleet of tugboats, rowboats, sailboats, etc which they leased out for recreation and industry; today they are the largest tug/towing company on the west coast. Many Foss vessels are still painted white with green trim, as you can see here.

A quick sketch of some administrative buildings, accessible by footbridge, during a drizzle. I enjoy how all the LUDD buildings are integrated with the lake.

LUDD leases some of their dock space to Seattle Seaplanes, where you can charter a flight for a aerial tour of Seattle, as well as for moorage for recreational boats.

Floating Home Explorations

Recently, I've had the good fortune of meeting some folks who have the good fortune to live ON the water in Seattle. I had no idea before moving here that water living is such a Thing - and apparently there used to be way more floating homes before the city cracked down on regulations. After mentioning my interest in them to Gabi Campanario, he generously hit up some of his acquaintances with interesting watery living situations and arranged some visits.

A brief context: The floating homes started as a scrappy working class housing necessity (built by sawmill workers during the timber boom), now it's a gentrifier phenomenon – a place on the lake is now easily over $1 million. The houses float on big old timber logs, some scavenged from the mills over 100 years ago. Actual houseboats (live-aboards) require a hard-to-get permit & you have to find/rent moorage. There are pros and cons to each! Being able to easily move your home around seems pretty great, but you sacrifice certain things, like having convenient access to toilets, running water, internet, etc.

The floating homes & live-aboard boats are probably my favorite thing about this city so far, and seem culturally unique to Seattle. Getting to explore them makes me feel happy that I moved here. I'm also grateful for sketching, which has led me to meet these people who are gracious enough to invite me onto their docks (which aren't open to the public) and into their homes.

1. A's floating home in Eastlake

This floating home is in Eastlake, just a 10 minute walk from my apartment. It's occupied by a renter who didn't want to be named. His house apparently used to be a brothel! The kitchen, with the skylight, was my favorite part of the interior.

the view from A's patio, with fellow sketcher Gabi Campanario doing his thing on the left. Being able to walk out the door & jump in your kayak and paddle out would be so convenient! 

It was raining during the visit but I took advantage of the covered area make a quick watercolor before my hands froze.

2. Ann's floating home in Westlake

Ann is a Seattle native (I think - she's lived here for decades, at the least) who has lived in her lovely floating home for decades & was also introduced to me by Gabi. We weren't able to go inside her house, but there was plenty to explore on the dock and patio. This one is on the other side of Lake Union in Westlake. I love how the docks themselves feel very lived in - potted plants are everywhere & there are plenty of chairs available to lounge in. Ann even swims off her dock in the summer! Apparently Lake Union is clean enough these days.

Our host remarked on the new boxy home that recently moved in a few docks down. Apparently these new "luxury" houses are assembled elsewhere and floated in to the lots! So there isn't that connection of the materials to the land that the older homes have, and a lot of charm is lost. Seattle should recognize the value of its history in these floating homes and do something to preserve the aesthetic before it's lost.

Ann has a direct view of the most famous floating home - the one used in Sleepless in Seattle (the one on the end of the opposing dock with the bench on the end).

Ann and her neighbors own their dock as a co-op, so parts of it are rented out for moorage to actual houseboats. 

3. Jack's Live-Aboard Sailboat

I met Jack at a party at the Center for Wooden Boats, and he invited my partner & I over for dinner to his live-aboard sailboat! He whipped up a hearty stir-fry for us in his boat's super minimal kitchen. Jack lives aboard the Tachyon (n. a hypothetical particle that always moves faster than light), a 42 footer sailboat moored in the Shilshole Bay Marina, on the Puget Sound (I'm super jealous of the mountain views he gets from the dock). His parents were also boat people back in the day, and though he's a Pacific Northwest native, he's not lived in Seattle much longer than us.

The Shilshole Marina is quite sterile compared to the floating home docks - no potted plants, keyed gates on the entrances - and it was hard to tell how many of the other boats were being lived on. I definitely want to come back to sketch the surroundings here, it was a very cold and rainy night when we visited.

Although he likes to cook, Jack is definitely too tall of a dude to do this too often (he was really stooping over the whole time) – mostly he spends his free time at tea houses on land where there is wifi and comfortable desks to work.

It was roomier down in the cabin than I would have expected. Larger than most studio apts in NYC, though the ceilings are quite low. The space is really challenging to sketch, especially because of the curved walls and ceilings.